IQ Fiber Launches Northeast Florida’s First, Free High-Speed Wi-Fi in a Public Park

Jacksonville’s only local residential internet service provider launches public Wi-Fi at Jack Russell Park in Atlantic Beach.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., February 8, 2023 – IQ Fiber, Northeast Florida’s only local residential fiber-optic internet service provider, and the City of Atlantic Beach announce the launch of Northeast Florida’s only purpose-built, free, high-speed, outdoor Wi-Fi network in a public park. This unprecedented donation was funded entirely by IQ Fiber as a gift to the community. IQ Fiber and Atlantic Beach leaders and officials activated the Wi-Fi network in a ceremony held Wednesday, February 8 at the park.

IQ Fiber donated the design, engineering, construction and operation of the outdoor network in Jack Russell Park, Atlantic Beach’s most-frequented public park. The park is the first of three in Atlantic Beach to leverage the IQ Fiber network to benefit park users. IQ Fiber is currently working on outdoor Wi-Fi projects at Jordan Park and Community Center and Donner Park and Gail Baker Community Center, also in Atlantic Beach.

“The City of Atlantic Beach and all of our residents and visitors will greatly appreciate and benefit from IQ Fiber’s free internet service in our parks,” said Atlantic Beach Mayor Curtis Ford. “What a great way to start our relationship in this community partnership.”

In addition to this significant donation, IQ Fiber invested more than $12.5 million in its Atlantic Beach network, which began serving customers in December 2022. IQ Fiber is currently serving customers in Duval and Clay Counties and has additional deployment projects underway in St. Johns and Nassau Counties.

“Wi-Fi-enabled parks, community centers and other recreation and public spaces are still rare across the country and in Northeast Florida,” said Ted Schremp, CEO of IQ Fiber. “We are excited to partner with the City of Atlantic Beach to provide this free public Wi-Fi service for the benefit of both visitors and the broader community.”

The park Wi-Fi will allow any park visitor to access free, high-speed internet anywhere in the park. Users can connect mobile and wearable devices for sport and fitness, or simply use the park as an alternate connected location for education or work.

The Wi-Fi service is powered by IQ Fiber’s 100% fiber-optic network which is capable of symmetrical speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second and is far superior to telephone or cable-based internet.

IQ Fiber, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, is bringing high-speed, state-of-the-art 100% fiber-optic internet to areas of Northeast Florida that do not currently have access to modern, symmetrical broadband services. The first phase of the network will deliver fiber-optic internet to 60,000 homes across Northeast Florida. IQ Fiber is privately funded and launched in Aug 2021.

IQ Fiber is Northeast Florida’s only local fiber-optic internet service provider. Headquartered in Jacksonville, IQ Fiber is transforming the residential broadband market by offering a 100% fiber-optic network with a stress-free guarantee: no contracts, hidden fees, or data caps. Its network is supported by live, local customer service. IQ Fiber is focused on rapidly expanding its residential fiber network across Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns Counties. For more information, visit www.iqfiber.com or read more here: https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/free-fiber-optic-high-speed-network-announced-atlantic-beach-park/3JLPIC7RGNHJZDNM6JKBBUIJGM/

Frequently Asked Questions

The internet is the heartbeat of the modern home. We’ve come to rely on it for work, education, entertainment, and shopping. Fiber is the best solution to provide internet because it is:

Fast — 1000 mbps (1G) of speed with fiber internet is about 20 times faster than standard cable. Your time is valuable, so don’t waste it waiting for your internet to load!
Reliable — IQ Fiber provides dedicated bandwidth directly to your home, so your speeds don’t dip during peak traffic hours or as more neighbors join the Fiberhood.
Symmetrical — Only fiber has symmetrical upload and download speeds so no matter what you’re doing, you can get it done quickly.
Future-Proof — Fiber cables are more lightweight, durable, and resilient than copper. Its bandwidth capacity far exceeds what any home requires, so we’ll grow with you as technology changes in the future.
Sustainable — Traditional cable uses about 12 times more energy than fiber. It generates less heat and is made from more sustainable materials.

IQ Fiber specializes in fiber-optic internet that delivers streaming services to your home at lightning-fast speeds. We don’t sell TV or video packages like what you see from cable companies because our customers get more for less money when they switch to streaming.

It’s a common misconception that you lose TV, video, and landline phone services when you cut the cable cord. By de-bundling all of these services from your cable provider, you can get more of the channels you actually watch and save money too! We recommend that when you sign up for IQ Fiber, you start using a streaming service that includes live TV options to replace your current cable package. Learn more about streaming services on our blog, or you can call us at 904-289-1000 and we’ll walk you through some popular options like YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV.

Symmetrical speeds are when upload and download speeds are equal. Older mediums like cable and DSL are asymmetrical, meaning you aren’t able to upload data as quickly as you can download it. When your speeds are symmetrical it means video calls work better, video games play faster, and your photos upload in an instant.

The conduit we’re laying in your area contains fiber strands that will lead directly into your home. Each strand contains glass that refracts pulses of light, which is how data is sent to and from the devices in your home. This is much faster than traditional methods of sending data through electricity using copper wire.

First thing’s first – 5 Gig is different (and better) than 5G. “5G” is simply the name of a radio frequency used for wireless internet and is not an indication of speed. 5 Gig (short for 5 Gigabit) is a measure of how much speed you’ll get with a wired connection to IQ Fiber’s 100% fiber-optic network. 5 Gig is equal to 5,000 Megabits, which is the fastest residential speed available in most areas of North Florida.

So, how fast is 5 Gig exactly? For reference, streaming a 4k movie takes about 25 megabits per second of bandwidth. With 5 Gig internet, you could stream 200 4k movies at the same time with no lag! Stream, game, work from home, and connect as many household devices as you can imagine without any buffering. Homes are only becoming more connected over time, which is why faster internet is always better.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s so special about fiber-optic internet?

How do I get video & TV services?

What is a symmetrical internet connection?

How does fiber-optic internet work?

What is 5 Gig internet? How fast is it?